24.1
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿIkrimah, who said:
When the oath of fealty was pledged to Abū Bakr, ʿAlī withdrew to his house. ʿUmar met him and said, “So you’ve withdrawn to avoid pledging fealty to Abū Bakr?” ʿAlī replied, “I swore an oath when the Messenger of God was taken from this world that I would not don a coat until I had collected the Qurʾan, except to perform the required prayers, for I feared that the Qurʾan would slip away.”246 After that he came out and pledged his fealty to Abū Bakr.
24.2
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿArār, who said:
I asked Ibn ʿUmar about ʿAlī and ʿUthmān, and he said, “As for ʿAlī, that there is his house”—meaning that ʿAlī’s house was near the Prophet’s house in the mosque—“and I will tell you a story about the other”—meaning ʿUthmān. “As for ʿUthmān,” he continued, “God grant him mercy. He committed a grave sin against God, but God forgave him; he committed but a minor sin against all of you, but you all murdered him.”247
ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Ibn Mubārak related to us on the authority of Mālik ibn Mighwal, on the authority of Ibn Abjar, who said:
When the oath of fealty was pledged to Abū Bakr, Abū Sufyān came to ʿAlī and said, “The lowliest households of the Quraysh have seized this power to rule over all of you. By God, I will fill the city with horses and men!” ʿAlī replied, “I have said before that you remain an enemy to Islam and its people. This brings no harm to Islam and its people and, indeed, we regard Abū Bakr as worthy.”
24.4
ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Maʿmar related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn:
A man once said to ʿAlī, “Tell me about the Quraysh.” ʿAlī replied, “Our most cunning in political strategy are our brethren, the Umayyah clan; the bravest of us at the moment of battle and the most generous with the spoils is the Hāshim clan; the sweet-smelling flower that perfumes the Quraysh is the Mughīrah clan. Away with you now, that’s enough for today.”
24.5
ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Maʿmar related to us, saying:
A man once said to ʿAlī, “Tell me about the Quraysh.” ʿAlī replied, “As for us, the Hāshim clan, we are the braves, the men of distinction, the leaders, and the virtuous; as for our brethren, the Umayyah clan, they are the vanguards of the defense; and the sweet-smelling flower that perfumes the Quraysh is the Mughīrah clan.”